Beverage bottle with resealable storage compartment

ABSTRACT

A beverage bottle particularly adapted for promotional use having a body portion, a seal portion and promotional product. The body portion having a sidewall portion extending vertically between a neck portion and a base portion, the sidewall portion having a flange portion which peripherally defines a cavity portion. The cavity portion extending a predetermined depth inwardly of the plane of the sidewall portion. The seal portion disposed over the flange portion and cavity portion of the body portion to sealably enclose the cavity portion and provided provided with a pressure sensitive adhesive for sealing the seal portion to the flange portion. The pressure sensitive adhesive adhesive enabling the seal portion to be peeled from and resealed to the flange portion of the body portion. The promotional product releasably sealed within a storage compartment defined by the cavity portion and the seal portion, the promotional product being frictionally retained within the cavity portion and spaced apart from the seal portion so as to prevent the deformation of the seal portion during the commercial handling of the beverage bottle.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to beverage bottles and, morespecifically, to a beverage bottle adapted for promotional use having apeelable and resealable storage compartment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Promotional products are commonly used by businesses to increase publicawareness of their goods and services. In respect to packaged foods,such as cereals and potato chips, manufacturers can easily include thepromotional products within the packaging at the time of manufacture.Following the purchase of such packaged foods, the consumer may open thepackaging and remove the promotional product for their use andenjoyment. Thus far, manufacturers have not been provided with asuitable approach for providing promotional products with liquidbeverages. An existing approach is to secure the promotional product toa hang tag around the neck portion of the beverage bottle when theliquid beverage is offered to the general public. Manufacturers havediscovered that this approach is problematic for the reason thatconsumers may easily remove the promotional product from the beveragebottle without having to purchase the associated beverage bottle.

Promotional products are increasingly used at sporting and entertainmentevents to encourage spectators to attend and support the participants inthe subject event. In view of the increased security conditions at mostpublic sporting and entertainment events, spectators are routinely notpermitted to bring banners and other novelty promotional products to theevents. Without banners or novelty promotional products, spectators areoften unable to fully enjoy and participate in the excitement ofsporting and entertainment events.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved beveragebottle having a storage compartment in which a promotional product canbe readily disposed while being easily opened and resealed by a simplepressure seal portion. It is advantageous to provide a beverage bottlehaving a promotional product disposed within a storage compartment toprevent the dislocation of such promotional products during thecommercial handling of the beverage bottle and to instill consumerconfidence in the integrity of the promotional product accompanying thebeverage bottle. There is also a need for a beverage bottle having apromotional product for use by manufacturers and other commercialentities in conjunction with promotional and advertising campaigns atsporting and entertainment events. The beverage bottle of the presentinvention may also be used by a consumer in a conventional manner toquench their thirst and thereby further enhance their enjoyment of thesporting or entertainment event.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a beverage bottle particularly adaptedfor promotional use having a body portion having a sidewall portionextending vertically between a neck portion and a base portion, thesidewall portion having a flange portion which peripherally defines acavity portion, the cavity portion extending a predetermined depthinwardly of the plane of the sidewall portion. A seal portion isdisposed over the flange portion and cavity portion of the body portionto sealably enclose the cavity portion, the seal portion provided with apressure sensitive adhesive for sealing the seal portion to the flangeportion. The pressure sensitive adhesive enabling the seal portion to bepeeled from and resealed to the flange portion of the body portion. Apromotional product removably sealed within a storage compartmentdefined by the cavity portion and the seal portion, the promotionalproduct being frictionally retained within the cavity portion and spacedapart from the seal portion so as to prevent the deformation of the sealportion during the commercial handling of the beverage bottle.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the cavity portion isdefined by a cavity edge 30 extending substantially inwardly from thesidewall portion of the body portion to a recessed cavity wall. Theplane of the cavity wall of the cavity portion is substantiallyco-planar with the sidewall portion of the body portion. The dimensionsof the cavity portion substantially conform to the dimensions of thepromotional product so as to frictionally engage the promotional productwithin the cavity portion.

In a further aspect, the flange portion and the pressure sensitiveadhesive on the seal portion separate when the storage compartment ispeeled open, and wherein the flange portion and the pressure sensitiveadhesive on the seal portion adhere when the storage compartment isresealed. The material strength of the seal portion is greater than theadhesive strength of the pressure sensitive adhesive to prevent tearingwhen the seal portion is peeled from and sealed to the beverage bottle.The seal portion is adhered to the flange portion of the body portion toform a seal around the cavity portion so that the storage compartment issubstantially sealed to exclude air and water.

In another aspect of the present invention, the promotional product issealed within the storage compartment so as not to dislodgeuncontrollably during the commercial handling of the beverage bottle.The cavity portion is fractionally longer than the promotional productto enable the finger grasping and removal of the promotional productfrom the cavity portion. The seal portion is substantially durable toresist impact forces against the body portion and the promotionalproduct during the commercial handling of the beverage bottle. The sealportion may be manufactured from a flexible foil material or a flexibleplastic material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show moreclearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made,by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage bottle illustrating a storagecompartment containing a promotional products in a preferred embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is cross-sectional view of the beverage bottle illustrated inFIG. 1 and showing the storage compartment and the promotional product;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a beverage bottle illustrating thepromotional product disposed and partially sealed within the storagecompartment of the beverage bottle;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a beverage bottle illustrating aminiature beverage bottle sealed within the storage compartment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention illustrating a pair of promotional eyeglasses received withinthe storage compartment of the beverage bottle; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the alternate embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 5 wherein the pair of promotional eyeglasses arepartially sealed within the storage compartment of the beverage bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made to FIGS. 1-3 which illustrate a beverage bottle 10particularly adapted for promotional use in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present invention. The beverage bottle 10 of thepresent invention has a body portion 12 for holding a liquid beverage.The body portion 12 has a lid or cap 14 releasably coupled to a neckportion 16 which, when removed, enables a consumer to drink or pour theliquid beverage from the beverage bottle 10. The lid or cap 14 may becoupled to the neck portion 16 using any suitable fastening mechanism,such as a threaded fastening mechanism or a snap-fit fasteningmechanism. The neck portion 16 is formed with a generally slopingshoulder portion 18 which merges with a cylindrical sidewall portion 20.The cylindrical sidewall portion 20 extends to a base portion 22 whichis adapted to support and stabilize the beverage bottle 10 when it isplaced on a generally horizontal surface.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the sidewall portion 20 extending verticallybetween the neck portion 16 and the base portion 22 is provided with aflange portion 24. The flange portion 24 peripherally defining a cavityportion 26 formed in the sidewall portion 20. The flange portion 24 mayextend onto the neck and base portions 16 and 22 so as to define alarger cavity portion 26 in the body portion 12. The cavity portion 26having a cavity wall 28 that is substantially co-planar with thesidewall portion 20 of the body portion 12 and a cavity edge 30extending between the cavity wall 28 and the sidewall portion 20. Thecavity portion 26 extends a predetermined depth inwardly of the plane ofthe sidewall portion 20 towards the centre of the cylindrical bodyportion 12. The cavity portion 26 terminates at a top end 32 which isproximate to the neck portion 16 of the beverage bottle 10. The cavityportion 26 is integrally formed from the material of the body portion 12by conventional molding or vacuum-forming methods. By this design, theliquid beverage contained within the body portion 12 of the beveragebottle 10 cannot leak or otherwise seep from the beverage bottle 10 intoor through the cavity portion 26. The beverage bottle 10 may beconstructed to resemble any commercially available bottle for holding aliquid beverage and may be manufactured from any suitable plasticmaterial, such as, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Itshould be understood that the beverage bottle 10 of the presentinvention may be adapted to store any suitable liquid, such as, forexample, water, juice, milk, carbonated sodas, beer and liquor.

Referring to FIG. 3, a seal portion 34 disposed over the flange portion24 and cavity portion 26 of the body portion 12 to sealably enclose thecavity portion 26. The seal portion 34 is provided with a pressuresensitive adhesive 36 for sealing the seal portion 34 to the flangeportion 24. The sealing of the seal portion 34 over the cavity portion26 defines a storage compartment 38 therebetween dimensioned to receivea promotional product. The provision of the seal portion 34 over thecavity portion 26 prevents tampering with the promotional product priorto the purchase of the beverage bottle 10 by a consumer. Preferably, thedimensions of the cavity portion 26 substantially conform to thedimensions of the promotional product so as to frictionally engage thepromotional product within the cavity portion 26. The promotionalproduct is substantially frictionally retained within the cavity portion26 and the storage compartment 38 due to the interaction between thecavity wall 28 and cavity edge 28, respectively, and the promotionalproduct. More preferably, the predetermined depth of the cavity portion26 is such that the promotional product is slightly spaced apart fromthe sealing portion when disposed within the storage compartment 38. Bythis design, uncontrollable movement of the promotional product duringthe commercial handling of the beverage bottle 10 is minimized, therebysubstantially preventing the promotional product from deforming the sealportion 34 and marring the aesthetic appearance of the beverage bottle10.

To prevent the occurrence of damage to the promotional product duringthe commercial handling of the beverage bottle 10, the seal portion 34is preferably manufactured from a flexible foil or plastic material. Itshould be understood that the foil or plastic materials may consist of abase layer 42 and an adhesive layer 44 bonded together in a conventionalheat sealing method (as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6). Preferably, thematerial strength of the seal portion 34 is greater than the adhesivestrength of the pressure sensitive adhesive 36 provided on the adhesivelayer 44 so as to substantially prevent tearing or ripping when the sealportion 34 is peeled from and sealed to the beverage bottle 10.Moreover, the base layer 42 is substantially durable to resist impactforces against the seal portion 34, body portion 12 and the promotionalproduct during the commercial handling of the beverage bottle 10.

Referring to FIG. 3, the pressure sensitive adhesive 36 provided on theseal portion 34 is adapted to enable the seal portion 34 to be peeledfrom and resealed to the flange portion 24 of the body portion 12 by aconsumer of the beverage bottle 10. The flange portion 24 and thepressure sensitive adhesive 36 on the seal portion 34 separate when thestorage compartment 38 is peeled open. Conversely, the flange portion 24and the pressure sensitive adhesive 36 on the seal portion 34 adherewhen the storage compartment 38 is resealed. The seal portion 34 isadhered to the flange portion 24 of the body portion 12 to form a sealaround the cavity portion 26 so that the storage compartment 38 issubstantially sealed to exclude air and water.

Referring to FIG. 2 the promotional product is adapted to be initiallystored within the storage compartment 38 when the beverage bottle 10 isoffered and subsequently sold to a consumer at a sporting orentertainment venue, for example. When the beverage bottle 10 ispurchased by the consumer, the seal portion 34 may be at least partiallypeeled from flange portion 24 to permit access to the promotionalproduct 40 stored within the storage compartment 38. The top end 32 ofthe cavity portion 26 may be fractionally longer than the promotionalproduct to enable the finger grasping and removal of the promotionalproduct from the cavity portion 26. Once removed from the storagecompartment 38, the consumer may then display or otherwise use thepromotional product during the course of the sporting or entertainmentvenue. It should be understood that a wide variety of promotionalproducts 40 may be provided within the storage compartment 38,including, but not limited to, banners, flags, signs, miniature beveragebottles, whistles, candies, glow sticks, rally sticks, inflatableballoons, and/or condoms.

In a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.2, the promotional product 40 consists of a banner 46 dimensioned to bereceived within the cavity portion 26 and the storage compartment 38.The banner 46 may consist of a plurality of telescopic members 48 and aflag portion 50 which may be unfurled and displayed by a consumer duringa sporting or entertainment event. The flag portion 50 may bearinformation relating to the liquid beverage, the beverage manufacturer,and/or the participants in the sporting or entertainment event, forexample. The flag portion 50 is secured to at least one of thetelescopic members 48 at a flag end 52 of the promotional product 40.

During assembly, the plurality of telescopic members 48 are press-fit orsnap fit into one another to collapse the promotional product 40 into acompact size suitable for insertion into the storage compartment 38. Theflag portion 50 is furled or rolled up around the collapsed telescopicmembers 48 to facilitate the manual or automated insertion of thepromotional product 40 into the storage compartment 38 of the beveragebottle 10. The seal portion 34 may then be adhered to the flange portion24 to prevent the removal or tampering of the promotional product priorto the sale of the beverage bottle 10

When the seal portion 34 is at least partially peeled from the flangeportion 24, the banner 46 may be removed from the cavity portion 26 (asshown in FIG. 3). Following the display of the promotional product 40,the consumer may collapse the telescopic members 48 and snugly furl theflag portion 50 around the one or more telescopic members 48. Thepromotional product 40 may then be reinserted into the cavity portion 26and resealed within the storage compartment 38 by adhering the sealportion 34 to the flange portion 24 for storage purposes.

In a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.4, the promotional product 40 is a miniature beverage bottle 54containing samples of new promotional beverages offered by a beveragemanufacturer. By this design, manufacturers may provide existingconsumers with samples of new promotional beverages together with theliquid beverages in the beverage bottles 10. It is contemplated that theminiature beverage bottle 54 may contain a wide variety of beverages,including liquor, water and carbonated water, flavored syrup andflavored crystals. A consumer may pour the liquor contents of theminiature beverage bottle 54 into the body portion 12 of the beveragebottle 10 to create a mixed alcoholic beverage. It should be understoodby a person skilled in the art of the present invention that a widevariety of liquor beverages may be contained within the miniaturebeverage bottle 54, including vodka, rum, whiskey and/or rye. It shouldbe further understood that the variety of liquor contained within theminiature beverage bottle 54 may be selected by the beveragemanufacturer to complement the liquid beverage contained within thebeverage bottle 10.

In a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS.5 and 6, the cavity portion 26 is dimensioned to receive a pair ofpromotional eyeglasses 56, such as a pair of 3D-eyeglasses orsunglasses. The promotional eyeglasses 56 are disposed and frictionallyretained within the cavity portion 26 and sealed within the storagecompartment 38 using the seal portion 34. A consumer purchasing thebeverage bottle 10 may remove and wear the 3D-eyeglasses 56 in themanner described above to enhance their viewing enjoyment of a movie atan entertainment venue. For an outdoor sporting or entertainment event,the promotional product may consist of a pair of sunglasses that theconsumer of the beverage bottle 10 may utilize to protect their eyesfrom UVA and UVB light rays during their enjoyment of the outdoor event.While not shown, the promotional eyeglasses 56 may be provided with thelogo or trademark of the beverage bottle manufacturer so as to promoteits products and services.

When used in the foregoing manner, the beverage bottle 10 of the presentinvention may be advantageously utilized as a promotional tool forbusinesses aiming to provide promotional products to its consumers in aconvenient and safe manner. The beverage bottle 10 may also be utilizedas a business-to-business advertising tool enabling a liquid beveragebusiness to cross-promote the goods and services of another business byproviding advertisements and product samples, for example, within thestorage compartment 38 of the beverage bottle 10. In addition to the thevarious promotional and advertising opportunities that may be pursuedusing the beverage bottle 10 of the present invention, the beveragebottle 10 may continue to be utilized by a consumer in a conventionalmanner to quench their thirst and thereby further enhance theirenjoyment of the related business, sporting or entertainment event.

While what has been shown and described herein constitutes a preferredembodiment of the subject invention, it should be understood thatvarious modifications and adaptions of such embodiment can be madewithout departing from the present invention, the scope of which isdefined in the appended claims.

1. A beverage bottle particularly adapted for promotional use,comprising: a body portion having a sidewall portion extendingvertically between a neck portion and a base portion, the sidewallportion having a flange portion which peripherally defines a cavityportion, the cavity portion extending a predetermined depth inwardly ofthe plane of the sidewall portion; a seal portion disposed over theflange portion and cavity portion of the body portion to sealablyenclose the cavity portion, the seal portion provided with a pressuresensitive adhesive for sealing the seal portion to the flange portion,the pressure sensitive adhesive enabling the seal portion to be peeledfrom and resealed to the flange portion of the body portion; and apromotional product removably sealed within a storage compartmentdefined by the cavity portion and the seal portion, the promotionalproduct being frictionally retained within the cavity portion and spacedapart from the seal portion so as to prevent the deformation of the sealportion during the commercial handling of the beverage bottle.
 2. Abeverage bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cavity portion isdefined by a cavity edge extending substantially inwardly from thesidewall portion of the body portion to a recessed cavity wall.
 3. Abeverage bottle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plane of the cavitywall of the cavity portion is substantially co-planar with the sidewallportion of the body portion.
 4. A beverage bottle as claimed in claim 1,wherein the dimensions of the cavity portion substantially conform tothe dimensions of the promotional product so as to frictional engage thepromotional product within the cavity portion.
 5. A beverage bottle asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the flange portion and the pressuresensitive adhesive on the seal portion separate when the storagecompartment is peeled open, and wherein the flange portion and thepressure sensitive adhesive on the seal portion adhere when the storagecompartment is resealed.
 6. A beverage bottle as claimed in claim 5,wherein the material strength of the seal portion is greater than theadhesive strength of the pressure sensitive adhesive to prevent tearingwhen the seal portion is peeled from and sealed to the beverage bottle.7. A beverage bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seal portion isadhered to the flange portion of the body portion to form a seal aroundthe cavity portion so that the storage compartment is substantiallysealed to exclude air and water.
 8. A beverage bottle as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the promotional product is sealed within the storagecompartment so as not to dislodge uncontrollably during the commercialhandling of the beverage bottle.
 9. A beverage bottle as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the cavity portion is fractionally longer than thepromotional product to enable the finger grasping and removal of thepromotional product from the cavity portion.
 10. A beverage bottle asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the seal portion is substantially durable toresist impact forces against the body portion and the promotionalproduct during the commercial handling of the beverage bottle.
 11. Abeverage bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seal portion ismanufactured from a flexible foil material.
 12. A beverage bottle asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the seal portion is manufactured from aflexible plastic material.
 13. A beverage bottle as claimed in claim 1,wherein the promotional product is a whistle adapted to be removed fromthe storage compartment and releasably secured to the neck portion ofthe beverage bottle.
 14. A beverage bottle as claimed in claim 1,wherein the promotional product is a banner furled around one or moretelescopic members and disposed within the storage compartment.
 15. Abeverage bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein a liquid beverage withinthe body portion is maintained separate from the promotional productwithin the storage compartment.
 16. A beverage bottle as claimed inclaim 15, wherein the promotional product is a miniature beverage bottlecontaining a liquor beverage adapted to be removed from the storagecompartment and combined with the liquid beverage in the body portion toprepare a mixed liquid beverage.